The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-06-08
The Churches in the United States.

tianity is losing its hold upon the masses
in the United States. Statistics show
that this is quite mistake. Indeed, the
opposite of the assertion is amply shown
by the figures The religious division
Of the census of 1880 has not yet been
published, so that the public is deprived
of the figures made up from authorita-
tive statements of representatives of the
different branches of the Christian
Church. But enough data are obtaina-
BILE from other trustworthy sources to
enable us to make fair estimate. The
result of such estimate is to show that
the increase in churches, ministers and
communicates more than keeps pace
with the increase in population.
A computation Of the statistics of the
churches of the United States made four
years ago shows that at that time there
we're 115, ,610 churches, SILL ministers
and II, ,267,17S commandments, including
1892, 954 Roman Catholics. These fig
ures did not include Mormons or Jews.
The year books of 1856 show that the
same religious bodies now number 1872, :
435 churches, 81, ,911 ministers and 49,
0lS,977 communicants, allowing the
Catholic population to number 7,OOO,-
900, which would be gain of but l6I,-
900 in four years. The net gain Of four
yearsis thus shown to be Is, ,235 churches,
or at the rate of 10: per day; 1,6lS, 799
commandments, or at the rate Of LII
every day, and 10, 1914 ministers, or more
than >. 500 year. Unless these figures
can be shown to be untrustworthy, the
claim that the masses are falling away
from the churches is cohtradicted.
It is interesting to note the relative
strength OF the various religious bodies
which figure in these statistics. The
Roman Catholics stand first, with a
membership of 100000. The fourteen
different Methodist organizations come
next, with a total membership OF 1852,
65S; the Baptists third, with 3, 72!, ,O2O;
Presbyterians fourth, with 1,OS2, 1876;
Lutherans fifth, with 930,S3G; Congre-
gationaGsts sixth, with 43G,379, and
Episcopalians seventh, with s3O, 23l.
The entire Protestant Church member
ship is placed at 12,OlS,977. Of the
gains of the last four years the Method
lists ere to be credited with more than
one-half the ministers and with one-thlrd
OF the churches and membership. The
growth of this body is enormous, 1t
having arisen within one hundred years
from membership of $4,000 to !, 4,o32,
G5S at the close of last year. :.
The churches of the United States, II
classified according to form Of church
government, would naturally fall under
three heads, Episcopal, Congregational
and Presbyterian. In the first, which is
the largest class, should be placed Cath
olics, Episcopalians, Methodists and Mo-
ravians, their combined memberships
aggregating II, 7S7, 7773. The Congrega-
tional polity includes Baptists, Congre-
eationalists, Advents, Friends and some
i minor divisions of the Methoaists, with
an aggregate membership OF 4,o2O, IL.
Under the Presbyteri form come the
various Presbyterian bodies, as well as
the Lutherans and Mennonltes, with a
membership of 2, 71O, 632.
There is every reason to expect that
the growth in church membership will
increase rather than diminish. The
different church bodies are improving
their methods both in extent and II
effectiveness. Sundey-schools have Of
late years become more numerous, and
have become, too, better means OF pro-
noting the growth OF the Church.
Nearly one thousand preachers OF Chris
tianity are at work, and of late years the
standards of fitness for the ministry have
been very much raised. The Church,
clergy as well rs laity, is better educated,
anG for that reason is all the better tittes!
to teach that morality without which
Christianity cannot expect to cope with
its enemies or to place its followers ii
such light before the world as that they
may by their lives teach its all-important
| lessons.